Theatrical producer and director, Harold Smith Prince, better known as Hal, died in Reykjavik, Iceland on July 31, after a short illness. Prince, 91, for whom the words “legendary” and “icon” ring profoundly true, won 21 Tony Awards in a 70-year career and was associated with the cream of Broadway musicals, including Cabaret, West Side Story, Fiddler on the Roof, Damn Yankees, A Little Light Music, Show Boat, Company, Fiorello!, Evita and many more.
Tony-winning shows that he produced included The Pajama Game (1955) to Candide (1974). As he moved into directing, he was nominated 16 times and won Tony Awards in the Best Direction of a Musical category for eight shows including Show Boat, Follies, Sweeney Todd and Evita. In 2006, he was given a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Tony Awards for his indelible contributions to the Broadway stage. His last outing was directing Prince of Broadway in 2017.
Prince was born (and raised) in Manhattan on January 30, 1928. He served for two years in the US Army during the Korean War. Upon his discharge, he began his theatrical career as an assistant stage manager on Tickets, Please!, quickly moving into producing in the mid 1950s. Prince also worked in collaboration with other titans of the Great White Way, including choreographer Bob Fosse, lyricist Sheldon Harnick, and composer-songwriters Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Andrew Lloyd Webber and others. In his 1974 memoir, Prince wrote: “I became a producer because fate took me there, and I was delighted. I used producing to become what I wanted to be, a director. (Ultimately, I hired myself, which is more than anyone else would do.)”
Prince is survived by his wife, Judy, whom he married in 1962, and two children, Daisy and Charles.
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